NJ gas prices on their way to dropping below $2 a gallon
Need to hear something positive in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? Here's one: Gas prices continue to drop in New Jersey and are expected to keep dropping for a while longer.
AAA MidA-tlantic spokeswoman Tracy Noble said the average gas price in New Jersey is $2.07 per gallon, which is four cents cheaper than a week ago. It's also 70 cents cheaper than a year ago.
However, New Jersey gas prices are still more expensive than the national average, which clocks in at $1.83 per gallon. It was at $1.89 a week ago. The national average was a dollar more expensive a year ago.
Burlington County has the cheapest gas in New Jersey at $2.01 per gallon. Cape May County is $2.09. Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon counties are at $2.08 on average. Monmouth and Ocean counties are reporting average gas prices at $2.09 per gallon.
Drivers won't find a better break in Pennsylvania with gas prices at $2.10 per gallon on average. In New York, it's $2.24 per gallon.
Noble said New Jersey is on track however to possibly dip below that $2 per gallon mark in the near future. That's because most people are on a stay-at-home order. So they are doing less driving and there's less demand for gasoline.
She also contributes the drop in gas prices to the huge drop in crude oil prices. Crude oil closed at $19.87 per barrel, which is extremely low. Noble said in the beginning of the year, crude oil prices were at more than $50 per barrel.
Noble said gas prices have not been this low in a number of years. It is expected to continue through at least April and May.
OPEC is cutting production above 10 million barrels per day but Noble said they are not seeing this as having a huge immediate impact on pump prices. On a national perspective, she expects April gas price averages to hit $1.70 per gallon. So she hopes the New Jersey average will also dip below the $2 per gallon mark.
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